FCC to vote on Obama’s call for government-run internet next month

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote in February to decide whether municipalities can bypass state laws to provide their own internet service – a policy that President Barack Obama threw his weight behind earlier this week.

The vote is controversial but has support from the Obama
administration, and proponents say it would give the public more
options and faster service. Many Republicans and opponents argue
that permitting such behavior exceeds the FCC’s authority.

Two cities – Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina –
have petitioned FCC regulators to allow them to build and operate
their own internet service. Supporters argue the proposal would
allow municipalities to create competition for large internet
providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T.

An FCC official said regulators would vote on the petitions at
their monthly meeting in February, according to the Washington
Post.

However, the suggestion
has sparked opposition because a federal agency generally cannot
overturn state laws, and there are 20 states which ban municipal
broadband projects. Other opponents argue that municipal
broadband would be too costly for taxpayers. In Provo, Utah,
millions were spent on providing broadband before the project was
abandoned and sold to Google for its Fiber service.

Supporters, meanwhile, point to a provision in the
Telecommunications Act that gives the FCC the authority to
“support the deployment” of broadband competition. They
argue that this measure could increase competition and
potentially compel the large cable and telephone companies which
provide the bulk of the nation’s internet to improve their
services. Internet providers argue that they invested billions of
dollars in broadband infrastructure, and that government-owned
networks would chill private-sector investment.

Wading into the debate this week was President Obama, who said,
“Today high speed-broadband is not a luxury, it’s a
necessity.”

“In too many places across America, some big companies are
doing everything they can to keep out competitors. Ten of
millions of Americans have only one choice for the
next-generation broadband. So, they’re pretty much at the whim of
whatever internet provider is around.”

A White House report says that while 94 percent of Americans
living in urban areas can purchase an internet connection of 25
megabits per second, only 51 percent of Americans in rural areas
have access to such speeds.

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he was "preparing
to respond to complaints" from Chattanooga and Wilson, but
didn't offer a specific timeline.